Molecular Archaeological Study Of Qidan Remains

Ancient DNA(aDNA) refers to DNA recovered from clinical, museum, archaeological, and paleontology specimens. The study of ancient DNA is a young field, which has been revolutionized by the application of polymerase chain reaction technology since mid-1980s, and interest is growing rapidly. Many disciplines, such as anthropology and archaeology, have all been influenced by the analysis of ancient DNA.This is the first time in China to investigate such a problem by the analysis of ancient DNA. To determine who is the descendant of Qidan, DNA were extracted from 7 Qidan specimens found in Chifeng area, North China. By sequencing clones from short overlapping PCR products, a 231 bp mitochondria DNA(mtDNA) sequence of each sample was determined. Multiple controls indicate that these sequences are endogenous to the specimens. Sequence comparisons with the same region sequences of 56 Daurs, 24 Ewenkis, 20 Mongolian and 105 northern Hans, as well as phylogenetic analysis, show that there is the most closed genetic relation between the Qidan and Daurs.Furthermore, Y. chromosome polymorphisms analysis was carried out using three microsatellite markers(DYS19, DYS390, DYS391) on 56 Daurs, 45 "Ben Ren" and 50 northern Hans. The results show that the allale frequencies of all these three loci have no significant statistical differences between the Daurs and "Ben Ren", while those of the both population have significant difference with the northern Hans. The results indicate that the Daurs and "Ben Ren" may have the same paternal origion.